Treatment of Children in David Copperfield

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show". That`s how Dickens define his book. David Copperfield tells the story of a child who loses his father and has to assume responsibilities earlier. Also, it shows the child's treatment by different adults; From Peggotty, who is a lovely woman with David to Jane Murdstone, whose extreme dislike of kids. The book is written in first person because is an autobiography of Dickens, who had a very similar life history: His father went to debtor's prision and he started to work when he was twelve years old. Dickens wanted to stop the unfair treatment of children and he thought that writing a book, a lot of people would know what was going on. He became very popular because he wrote from his own experience and reflected everyday life in understandable ways and employed social criticism.

Dickens decided to wrote about children and the poor mainly because of the increase in London's population, comed by the Industrial Revolution. It expanded job opportunities in the metropolis but did not bring only good things though. An increase in residents of London meant more orphans and poverty, while factories demanded workers and were easier to young children and women to get a job because their wage-levels were lower. So, he grew up seeing childhood misery around him and his heart bled for them. He felt pity about the exploitation and prostitution of kids and he wanted to do something to stop their suffering. Children were the main victims because they were young, confused, weak, vulnerabled, defenseless. He was angry about the conditions of society which had a lot of disease such as cholera and typhoid; poverty, mainly because of the Industrial Revolution; noise; bad housing, as they were poor payed; poor sanitation; crime and the city was overcrowded, with a increased from 1 to 3 million residents. There was also the problem about public education as in many areas of England there was no state-funded schooling available so many lower-middle class children either went without schooling or went to Dame or evening schools. This was the situation during his time, and that's why he wrote about it.

The first adult impact on David is the loss of his father so he has no male figure to guide him which he expresses regret over; His mother only idolizes him. He also becomes more emotional, as he only has female influences. He shows his confusion and loneliness declaring, "I was a posthumous child. There is something strange to me, even now, in the reflection that he never saw me; I used to feel for it lying out alone there in the dark night". Clara wants David to have a father to protect him. Also, the fact of having no father on the family, bring them lots of financial problems, and Clara says, "Mr. Copperfield was so considerate and good as to secure the reversion of a part of it to Clara. A hundred and five pounds a year."

The initial truly positive adult influence on his life is his mother Clara, who is a young, beautiful and traditional mother, who believes that all the family's decisions have to be man's responsibility. This becomes very clear in the first chapter, when she affirms to Miss Betsey "We thought  Mr. Copperfield thought  it was quite a large rookery". Clara is weak, spoiled, innocent, immature, repressed and we can also see that she easily get hurt when he tells, "My mother shedding more tears than before" but she is the only protector of David, although she always avoid confrontation, being more of a child than a mother. When her husband dies, she feels very alone, because she only has Peggotty to help her, "We were very happy, Mr. Copperfield was only too good to me" claims Clara feeling very sad and single-handedly after her husband died. She was also in a difficult social position and wanted a protection for David. Clara gets married again because the family has no money at all. That...

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How does the author achieve the effect of perceiving the world with child’s eyes? Consider the quote and analyze the characterization techniques Dickens uses on the examples of Mr. and Ms. Murdstone, the Peggotty family, Davy’s mother. Are Dickens’ heroes and villains static or dynamic in “DavidCopperfield”?
Images of the Salem House, where David is sent after biting Mr. Murdstone, are the very satire on the educational system: boys are stupefied by the abuse of physical punishment, and seek escape in little night-parties listening to David’s accounts of the books he has read. At Salem House David encounters the first idol and mistake of his “undisciplined heart”, a boy from a rich upper-class family called James Steerforth, and one of the truest future friends – Tommy Traddles. Dickens shows how passionate little David does not distinguish beauty and virtue, and his idolized view of Steerforth is caused as much by his handsome looks and light manners as by his dubious “noble” deeds.
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...The film re-creation of Charles Dickens’ novel DavidCopperfield is an infallible portrayal of the Industrial Revolution. The film addresses many subjects and issues that were present in the time of the Revolution, with much accuracy. Common themes that arose in the film relating to the Revolution were the changing class system, working conditions, the family dynamic and the education system. All of these subjects underwent major transformations during the years of the revolution. Many examples of these transitions appear in “DavidCopperfield”.
One of the biggest social changes seen throughout the Industrial Revolution, happened within the class system. “No one disputes that the landed aristocracy and the new middle class (industrial entrepreneurs, merchants and professionals) benefited as owners, invertors and consumers. The debate is over the living standard of the wage-dependent and laboring population” (Legacy, 250). This quote outlines that the nobility, or the upper class, as well as the middle class, grossly prospered from the Industrial Revolution. The upper class maintained their superior status through owning factories and investing in promising manufacturers. In the film, David’s aunt Betsey Trotwood would be considered among the upper class. Betsey no longer works, and enjoys a lavish lifestyle full of opportunity due to her wealth. During the Revolution, the biggest change seen in the class...

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...The story traces the life of DavidCopperfield from childhood to maturity. David was born in Blunderstone, Suffolk, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, in 1820, six months after the death of his father. David spends his early years with his mother and their housekeeper, Peggotty. When he is seven years old, his mother re-marries Edward Murdstone. David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has similar feelings for Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Murdstone thrashes David for falling behind in his studies. Following one of these thrashings, David bites him and soon afterwards is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, with a ruthless headmaster, Mr.Creakle. There he befriends James Steerforth and Tommy x`Traddles.
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e- Plot summary .
f- Major themes .
g- List of references .
a- Abstract :
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All of this because it contains many autobiographical Elements which I tried hardly to discuss in my research .
Also there are a lot of similarities between Charles childhood and DavidCopperfield which really deserve to be clarified as possible as i could .
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...DavidCopperfield | November 16
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|
Matt Huddleston |
` “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Charles Dickens) The film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel “DavidCopperfield,” accurately depicts the Industrial Revolution. The film covers the aspects of the struggle of social class with the people during that time period. There is also a view of violence through different aspects. Labour of various social classes is shown with many diverse careers. The private lives of the characters in the film and the actual lives of many during the Industrial Revolution are very similar as well and have been accurately represent. Charles Dickens has done a superb representing the Industrial Revolution with his novel and film.
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...accompany the first single-volume publication ofDavid Copperfield, Dickens tells us that the completion of the novel is, for him, both a regret and a pleasure. He rejoices in the completion of the novel because the novel was a long time in coming, and he is satisfied that it is finished after two years of hard work. He mourns its completion, however, because it marks the end of his association with a cast of characters to whom he has become intensely attached. Dickens remarks that DavidCopperfield is his favorite of all his novels and that, of all the characters he has invented over the years, DavidCopperfield is dearest to him.
Summary- I am born
An older DavidCopperfield narrates the story of his life. He begins by saying that only the writing that follows can tell who the hero of his story is. He tells of his simple birth, which occurred at the stroke of midnight on a Friday night. An old woman in the neighborhood has told him that the time of his birth indicates he will be unlucky and will be able to see ghosts and spirits.
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